WGTB

For the LPTV station in Charlotte, NC, see WGTB-CD.

WGTB is a student-run internet radio station at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The station was originally founded as an AM station in 1946 by Rev. Francis Layden, SJ, moving to FM in 1960. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the station attracted attention in the Washington, DC area for its blend of alternative rock. Its tag line was WGTB, one nation underground. Strong left-wing sentiments, especially ads for the Washington Free Clinic, caused significant friction between the station's staff and the school's administration. Ultimately, Fr. Timothy Healy, SJ, Georgetown's president, donated the 6,700-watt signal, broadcasting at 90.1 MHz, to the University of the District of Columbia in 1979 for the sum of one dollar. UDC sold the signal to C-SPAN in 1997 for $25 million. That incarnation of the station is now WCSP-FM.

A new student staff resurrected the College radio station in 1982 as WROX-AM, an album-oriented rock format broadcasting to individual campus buildings over carrier current at 690 AM. The station reverted to its WGTB call sign in 1985, moving to an alternative format. After the move from studios in the Copley dormitory basement to the Leavey Center in 1996, the station broadcast via a "leaky cable" FM system at 92.3 MHz, also intended to ensure that the station could only broadcast around the campus and its immediate environs. Since 2001, WGTB's content has been available exclusively over the web. Broadcasts can be heard every day from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m at georgetownradio.com.

Recorded programming from WGTB, mostly in the 1970s can be heard Wednesdays on internet-radio station, WGAY (found at wgay.fm) Fortunately, hundreds of hours of WGTB were recorded by various listeners, several of whom have allowed WGAY to borrow and digitally dub these historical tapes, so that the sound of WGTB will continue to be heard.

Morgan Snow is the current General Manager. Peter Kelly and Paul Henderson are the current Directors of Marketing. William Rohde, Sam Wolter, and Samantha Kosarzycki are the current Directors of Music. Bianca Soler and Jon Smith are the current Directors of Events. Ainsley Fahey is the current Web Director. Nick Gatto is the current Director of Technology. Tom Garzillo is the current Director of Programming. Michelle Zhou is the current Director of Business. Rachel Henry is the current Head of DJ Services. John Harrison is the Coach of the WGTB Athletics Team.

In 2012, WGTB began receiving critical acclaim and a wider audience when it started airing The Up-Turn, hosted by Peter Kelly (DJCLAPYOURHANDZ) and Peter Mackell (DJMACKANDCHEESE), every Friday from 12-2 p.m. Around campus, The Up-Turn is credited for bringing WGTB to a modern golden era and the hosts are the most popular boys in school.

External links

• WGTB
• Article on the History of WGTB, from The Georgetown Independent
• "Radio Free Georgetown," Article on WGTB's clashes with the administration of Georgetown University, from the Washington City Paper, January 29, 1999
• Facebook Group "Vintage WGTB-FM"
• Radical Silence: The Story of WGTB-FM